Articulated railway vehicle



H. 7'. Herr INVENTOR ATTOM trucks and Patented July 14, 1925,

UNITED' .STATES PATENTOFFICE.

HERBERT Tgnnnn, OF PHILADELPHTA, PENNSYLVANIA, AssIGNoR To WESTTNG-HOUSE ELECTRIC AND MANUraC-TURING COMPANY, CORPORATION or PENN-SYLVANIA.

' -ARTICULATEDRAILWAY VEHICLE.

Application filed November 5, 1923. Serial No. 673,014.

To all 'whom it may concern:

" Be it known that I, HERBERT 'lh-Hann, a citizen of th vUnitedStates,.and a resident of Philadelp ia, in the county of Philadel- 6phia and State of Pennsylvania, have inventeda new' and -usefulImprovement in Articulated'Railwa Vehicles, of which the followingis aspeci catiom p This invention relates'to'v railway vehicle artieularlyto means for connecting truc 'of the type emplo ed in -arti'culatedlocomotives, and it has or an object to provide apparatus of thecharacter 'designatedfwhieh shall be soconstructedas to l5 Opposethelrelat-ive lateral movementsof the a jacent ends 'of the connectedtrucks, which relative lateral movement may be occasioned j by traversin,curved sections of track, with a force su cient to prevent suchlateral' movement for a predetermined track -curva-' lture and topermit, but to resist to some extent, lateral movement for av greatertrac-k curvature.

`These and other 'obj'ects of myinvention,

- which will be manifest in the' further description thereof, are set.forth in the following specification a'nd illustrated in theaccompanying drawingin which Fig. 1- is au outline plan vieu'jof alocomotive c mhodying three articulated trucks traversin;r :1

curved section of track an'd equipped with articulation apparatus of thecharacter employedin my invention; Fig. 2 isan enarged plan view oftheadjacent ends of two of the trucks sliotq/ n with the' draw harbroken away and Fiigr vis a sectionaleleration taken on the linellll-III of Fig. 2.

Railway locomotiies employing' multiwheel trucks, as for example, thosehaving 0 three trucks of eight driving wheels each thrust between thewheel flanges and the rails, resulting in wear thereof. Under extremeconditions of -operati 1\. this side thrust results at times in thederailment of the vehicleor al prying loose ofl a section of the rail.

The rear Wheel in the front truck has been found by trial to run againstthe inner rail -of the curve (unless the speed is excessive whencentrifugal force 4thro ws it against the outer rail), while the frontwheel ofthe rear truck runs against the outer rail. If free,-

dom of lateral movement between vthe adjacent ends of coupled trucksisrestricted,

however, the rear Wheel ot the front --truc'k .i

will usuallybe drawn away from the rail and the pressure on. the tiangeof. the front.

wheel of the reartifuek consequently'reduced'.

Freedom of lateral movement; has, in some instances, been restrained bythe installation of rigid or flexible transverse links pivotallyconnecte to `diagonall fdisposed adjacent corneis of the trucks` thistype,however, considerably complicate 'the operationof coupling oruncoupling the.

respective trucks composing the locomotive. Furthermore, I have .foundthat any restraining means which may be interposed between Yadjacenttruck ends should prevent lateral movement when tranversing curvedportions of track. up to a certain degreeof e-urvatme,-and permit, butrestrain to. some extent, lateral movement when traversing onnecting.means of track of greater curvature, and that the amount of restraintimposed upon the laterally-moving trucks should be uniform throughoutthe entire movement.

I therefore provide a projecting member or tongue which is rigidlysecured to one ofA the trucks and. which interposed between twocross-head members having rolling contact therewith.' The two Cross-headmembers areheld in engagement 4with the tongue byseparate pistonsdisposed-in suitable cylinders which i trucks. The cylinders are incommunication with the compressed air .reservoir ofthe locomotive, andthe pressure of the air upon the pistons causes the tongue to be firmlyluv-ld betweenthe cross-heads. Should the side thrust of the trucks besufficient to overcome the air pressure, lateral movement is' permitted.rlhe cylindersbeing in communication with the large reservoir, however,the air present in the cylinders is -not further compressed by themovement of the piston, and consequently, the restraining in'- fiuenreexerted upon the laterally moving trucks is uniform. Furthermore, thetrucks may be readily coupled or uncoupled without requiring the sightest attention being paid to the articulating device. By equippinglocomotives of the electrically driven type with my apparatus, I havefound that -are secured to the adjacent l'UO ` section of track 14. Eachtruck is member or ton the side thrust created by the wheel flanges uponthe rails has been-so reduced as to substantially double the mileageprocured from the driving wheel tires.

Referring to thedrawings for a more de-l tailed description ofrmyinvention, I show in Fig. 1 a locomotive 10 embodying three trucks 11,12 and 13 and traversing a curved provided with eight .driv' v wheels15h-15, and said trucks are couple in the .usual manner by means ofvlongitudinall -extending draw bars 16 which are pivots. y connected tothe respective trucks .asat 17. fAs'sliown to :i larger scale in Figs. 2and 3, a projecting gue 21is rigidly secured'by bolte- 22 to one'end ofboth of the 'trucks' 11 and 12. HSecuredto one end of the adacent trucks12 and 13 are the transversely-disposed cylinders 23-and 24. Arrangedwith in the cylinders are pistons 25 to which-'are secured by means of-rods 26 sind 27 crossheads .28alid 29. The cross-lieads 28 'and 29 areprovided with vertically-disposal pgs 30 and 31 upon which rollers 3 2and 33 rQ and engage the oppositev sides of the tongue 21. Thecross-heads 28 and 29 reciprocate in a common' guide 34 which issupported b means of a bracket 35 upon one end of t ie trucks 12 and 13.

Arranged in .any suitable location upon the'locolnotive is a compressedair reservoii 40 of any type which may be arpart of the braking system.Connected to this reservoir is a main conduit 41 having a iexible' portion 42 provided beta-ern the trucks 12 and `13. Connected to the main'conduit 41- nre branch conduits 43 which communicate with the outerends of .the cylindersA 23 and 24. Fixed in the inner end of thecylindeis 23 and 24 is an annular L-shaped packing incinber 44 forreventiiig' leakage ofgthc com- .pressed air tween thediameter of thepis- `ton 25 and the bore of the cylinder 24.'

Having' thus described the arrangement ot' an apparatus embodying onefoi-in of my nvention, theoperation thereof is as foi- 'lows: Thepressure of the air which is pros cnt in the reservoir 40 is conveyed bymeans of the main conduit 41, the flexible conduit 42 and the branchconduits 43-43 to the eitherA the roller 320i` 33,^dependingupon Thisforce is the .direction of curvature. transmitted throuh the propercross-head 28 or 29 and rod" 6 or 27 to one of the pis- Y .tonsp25 andis resisted by the pressure of the air acting thereon. Relative lateralmovement of the trucks is therefore pre- .vented and a-decidingguidingaction is exerted, which considerably reduces the sidejthrust ofthe ,Wheels upon the rail.

Upon the locomotive traversing a section of track having a considerableor abnormal degree of curvature, some freedom oflateral movement betweenthe trucks mustv be fallowed in order to avoid the-destruction or' Ydistortion of the truck or the track.v. .l&1y

apparatus vis so designed that underv a con-"' dition such as this, theopposing forces exerted by the trucks are suilicient to overfi coi'iethe pressure of the air acting upon the opposing piston 25, and thelatter moved toward the outer end of the cylinder.

The resistance offered by the piston to this outward movement is,however, suilicient to exert a. similar guiding action uponv sthe trucksas is present when traversing ,2pm-tions of track having a. lesser4degree of 95 cur\'ature. Because of the large storage vol uniecontained in the reservoir`40 and the free communicating jmeansprovidedv between the reservoir and the cylinders 23 and 24, the airdisplaced by the pistoii'25 in its 10' outward movement is creative .ofsubstanltially no increase in pressure and therefore the resistanceoil'eredby the piston to the relative lateral movement of the trucks isuniform throughout entire. extent, a fea- 1.0

the center truck 12 may be removed and the two end trucks 11 and -13coupled direct-ly together without requiring any labor other than thatordinarily i/nvolvcd in the coupling and uncoupling of locomotive truckswhich are not equipped with any articula-ting device. ll'hile l haveshown my invent-ion iiilfluitf one form, it. will be obvious tothose-skilcd iii the art that it is not so limited but is susceptible ofvarious other changesA and inodiiicntions,` without departing from thespirit thereof, und I desire, therefore, that only such limitationsshall behplaced therel upon as are .imposed by the prior art or as arespecifically setforth in the appended lngciaims.

What I claim is:

1. lIn a railway vehicle, the combination with apair of'trucks, offluid-pressure means for exerting a' force which shall oppose E forcescreated by the relative lateral movement of "the trucks.

2. In a railwayvehicle, the combination witha plurality of trucks, offluid'- ressure means for exerting forces which sha oppose forcescreated by the relative lateral movement of adjacent ends of the trucks.

3..In a railway vehicle, the combination withV a pair of trucks', of'fluid-pressure means for restraining vrelative lateral move `ment.of thetrucks, said fluid-pressure means being unyieldable under apredetermined l i load vbut-adapted to yield under. greater load.

*fluid-pressure means being 'un ieldable under.

.4. In a railway vehicle, the combination with Va plurality of trucks,of fluid-pressure means foirestricting relative lateralmovements ofadjacent .ends of the' tr'ucks, said a predetermined load but a apted toyield under a-greater load.

5. Inf a railway vehicle, the combination I "j with a pair. ofl trucks,of fluid-pressure 'means for'substa'ntially preventing relative 4lateralmovement of the trucks under normal conditions of operation ofthe'veliicle 'and for permitting relative lateral movement of Athetrucks under abnormal conditionsof operation. "A

LA6. In a railway vehicle, the combination with apair of trucks, offluid-pressure means interposed between adjacent ends of said'ti'ucksfor restraining relative lateral movement thereof, said fluidressuremeans being adapted to substantial y prevent any relativelateral'movment of the trucks durnormal conditions of operation of theve i cle but to permit relative movement under abnormal conditionsofoperation.

7. In a railway vehicle, the combination with "a pair-of trucks, ofmeans forfpreventin relative' 'lateral movement of adjacent ens 'ofthetrucks when traversing sections of track of a certain degree ofcurvature and for permittingand restraining relative lateral movementwhen traversingv curved portions of`track having a greater degree ofcurvature, the amount of restraint imposed being uniform throughout theextent of such lateral movement.

8. In a railway vehicle, the combination with a pair of trucks, ofrestraining elements associated with one of the trucks and adapted toact transversely upon either side of the second truck, whereby relativelateralmovements of the second truck with respect to the, first truckvare restrained.

9. In a railway vehicle, the combination of a pair of trucks,transversely-disposed pistons having projecting means associated withone of the ti'ucksand adapted to act oppositely upon a portion of thesecond truck, and means for exerting a predetermined force upon thepistons, whereb relative lateral movement of the trucks is preventedunder normal conditions of operation and permitted under abnormalconditions of operation.

10. Ina railway vehicle,the combination of a pair of trucks,aprojecting-member rigidly secured to one of the trucks, and-.'restraining apparatusassociated with theli second truck. for opposingrelative lateral'f" projecting. meinberlin.' f

movements of said either direction.

11. In a. railway vehicle the eombinationf of a air of trucks, a rigimember projecting rom one of the trucks, and means Y secured to thesecond truck for exerting a 4constant force upon either side of saidrigid member upon a relative lateral movement of the trucks.

12. In a railway vehicle, the combination A of a pair of trucks, a'rigid member projecting from one of the trucks,.restrainin 1 pistonsassociated with the second trck an having projecting means adapted toengage the rigid member upon either side, -and means for vexerting aconstantforce upon eacl'i piston l in'the'directionof said rigid member.

13. In a railway vehicle, the-'combination 'l of a pair of trucks,` arigid member projecting from one of the trucks, restrainin pistonsassociated with the second truc and having projecting means adapted toengage the rigid member upon either side, and means -for maintaining aconstant pressure of fluid upon one face of'each of said pistons. 14.Ina railway vehicle, the combination of a pair of trucks, a projectingmember rigidlysecured to one of the trucks, a cylinder disposedtransversely on each side ofthe projecting member and secured to theadjacent en of thesecond truck, a piston disposed within Veach cylinder,means for maincombination adapted. to engage the projecting insmaintaining a constant pressure of 'fluid upon the outer faces of thepistons, a crosshead secured to each piston, said cross-head being'adapted to engage the projecting member, and a guidefor the cross-head.

16. In a' railway vehicle, the combination of a pair of trucks, acentrall disposed projecting member rigidly secure to one of the trucks,a c lindei' disposed transversel on eachside o the projecting membersea-iii'ed to the adjacent end of the secondAV truck, a piston disposedwithin .each c'ylin der, a cross-head secured to' eaclrpiston, means forsupplying fluidA under pressure to the cylinders, and a guide for thecross- 'f head secured to one of the trucks.

ti'ue s, a transversely-disposed cylinder arranged on each sideV of theprojecting meniber, a piston disposed within each cylinder, ,across-head including a roll er bearing se! euiedto'eaeli piston, andmeans for supplying fluid under' pressure to the pistons.

1 8. In a railway vehicle, the combination `:with a air. of trucks of aidectin(r memp p i s bei rigidly secured to one of tlie"truc ks, acylinder secured to the second truck, a pistondisposed within thecylinder, a crosslieadsecured to the piston and adapted to engage theprojecting member, means for maintaining a fluid 'under pressure uponthe v face ofthe piston oppositely disposed from tl `1e cros shead, anda compressible fluidpressure sealing element disposed within thecylinder and adapted to receive the piston, whereby leakage 'o'fluid isminimized; 19. In a railway vehicle,'the combination Alof a plurality ofarticulated trucks, fluid-- 'pressure means provided between'ftlie udja-'railway veliicle, of a centeringdevlce thereecnt Aends of the trucksfor resistingIF relative lateral movement, a reservoirqfor the l storageof fluid under pressure provideilin the vehicle, .and 'communie-atingmeans between the reservoir and tlie` said fluidpressure means.

20. In a railway vehicle, the combination of a plurality of articulatedtrucks, a longitudinally-extending rigid member projecting from oneadjoining end of each truck, restraining pistons supported on the secondadjoining end of each truck and cooperating 4 with said projectingmember, a. reservoir for the storage of fluid under pressure provided inthe vehicle, and means for main- 'for' opposing tainingsadfluidui'ider'prssure upon the pistons for restraining relative lateral'movement f tl'ic trucks.

- 21. In aY railway vehicle, the combination of a pair ofarticulatedltrucks, a 'pair of "cylindersassor'iated with one ofsaidt'rucks, reservoir'for the stoi-age'oi luid under inunicating mesasprovided between the reservoir and the c iinders, and afpiston disposedw'itliiii eac i cylinder', eacliiof the Said pistons being adapted toexert lateral forces relative transverse movement o f the trucks. 22.The combination (Vith an articulated vehicle, of a centeriigide'vi'cecomprisiii a. pair of 'fluid-pressure-actuated members isposed betweenv'the art-iculatld. parts l to yieldingly restrain moyement tliereo'f,1

The (ombination with an articulated "vehicle, of a centeiii'i'gdevioecdniprisin a pair Yof fluid-pressure-actuated members isposcd betweenthe varticulated pa'its to yieldingly restrain-Ylative transversemovement thereof." V i" 24. Tlieicombiiiation w'i-tlian arti'ciiilatedfvehicle, of a centering. device comprising a fluicl-pressuredevice` adated to engage the articulated parts to `yieldingly restrain thesaineagainst relative transversemovement. Q5. The' combination v'vith:tn-'articulated for and means 'foreffecting steering' 'of thearticulated members relatfnf'e'to the curvature ofthe rail, saidcentering device comprising a fluid-pressure Aapparatusmounted on one'of the articulated members and adapted to en -operatively engage'projecting' HERBERT T HERR movement Ell (lll

